Resident Evil 6 ships 4.5 million

Capcom confirms record initial shipment for latest zombie shooter

Resident Evil 6 is spreading like an Umbrella-engineered plague, as Capcom today announced the latest installment in its zombie-infested action series has shipped 4.5 million copies worldwide, a new record for the company.

Capcom has projected the game to sell 7 million copies, which would make it not only the best-selling Resident Evil yet, but the best-selling game in Capcom history. That title is currently held by Street Fighter II on the Super Nintendo (6.3 million sold), followed by Resident Evil 5 on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (5.8 million sold).

Resident Evil 6 launched on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this week to an uneven critical reception and technical stumbles. Some downloaded PS3 copies of the game were incompatible with a day-one patch, which rendered the title unplayable. Capcom proposed deleting and re-downloading the game as a workaround for the problem, though the game would still be incompatible with ResidentEvil.net, the game's online stat-tracking component.

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From what I have played so far, it's not as bad as people are making out (Of course it is all a matter of opinion). It definitely has its flaws, like too many quick-time events, slightly dodgy camera and a little too much action for me. But there are four different campaigns in here, all play differently and have different styles, so there is something for everyone. I think Capcom were aiming to deliver a more diverse title that would attract to a wider audience. Not a stellar Resident Evil game, but a pretty solid one. 79/100 from me.

@ Dave and Josh They sold 4.5 million units... whether consumers have bought them or not, retailers have, which means Capcom has gotten paid for 4.5 million units, easily making money on the title, despite its mass of terrible problems.

That's not true, Nicholas. Shipping is definitely not the same as selling.

We have no idea on the profitability of shipping 4,5 million units. Retailers might have insisted on Sale or Return. Capcom might have simply giving them the initial stock, making for a large investment of course, and only getting paid on units sold. Capcom might have even paid retailers to display their product, since reception hasn't been glowing. We don't know.

For example, a console title I worked on shipped 1 million units, only sold 200.000 units and was far from profitable. Resulting in the publisher having to buy large parts of the initial stock back as part of the agreements, and simply losing money on the whole ordeal. Losing more money then they would have if they hadn't shipped any in the first place..